New Work

The Return of the Barkleys

Published on February 2nd, 2016

Subaru of America, Inc. has launched its new “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.” advertising campaign in celebration of the love of pets shared by the brand and its owners. The five spots showcase the Barkleys, the adorable family of dogs featured in the 2013 “Meet the Barkleys” campaign. In Subaru’s newest spots, the Barkleys will take on everything from driving their Subaru around town, trying to get their kids to sleep and even dealing with other doggie drivers.

The national television spots, created by Carmichael Lynch on behalf of Subaru of America, will air in the coming weeks, and all five ads will be featured on February 7 during PUPPY BOWL XII on Animal Planet, where Subaru of America will mark its sixth year as the event’s Official Auto Sponsor. During the event, fans at home will be encouraged to share photos of their own pets using #PuppyBowlSubaru.

“PUPPY” – A nighttime drive is the only acceptable lullaby for one tired puppy, so one tired father takes the Barkleys’ Subaru Legacy for yet another lap around the block.

“PHONE NAVIGATION” – Your smartphone’s voice assistant isn’t exactly smart, and it doesn’t help when you’ve got one word to work with. The Barkleys drive their Subaru Legacy on a back road, and when they pull over for a little help, the family runs into a language barrier.

“DOGGIE BAG” – Sometimes the go-anywhere capability of Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is just too seductive. The Barkleys take their Subaru Forester out for a date night in the city, but their valet sees its potential for off-road adventure.

“WINDSHIELD WIPER” – The Barkleys run into some oddly localized weather in their Subaru Legacy. Luckily, a Legacy has more than just Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive to deal with a sudden downpour.

“BAD HAIR DAY” – We check back in with the Barkleys as Dad helpfully picks up Mom from the salon in their Subaru Forester and takes in her new look. Unfortunately, Golden Labs are genetically incapable of keeping a poker face.

“Subaru and its customers have a deep connection to pets. Eight out of 10 Subaru owners are pet owners, and our brand continues to support the causes and initiatives that our customers care about,” said Alan Bethke, vice president, marketing at Subaru of America. “The new ‘Dog Tested. Dog Approved.’ campaign puts the Barkley family in the driver’s seat to help celebrate this shared love.”

In support of the new campaign, Subaru will also create a custom Barkley emoji for Twitter that will auto-populate once users tweet #DogApproved to help pet lovers everywhere share their love of Subaru and their pets with friends and family.

The “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.” campaign builds on Subaru’s larger “Subaru Loves Pets” initiative. Subaru continues to support this initiative by working alongside the ASPCA, sponsoring national pet adoption programs and hosting the Subaru Pet Hall of Fame in the Fall of 2015.